What would be the procedure for restarting a 1967 Chevy 327 V-8 engine that was rebuilt in 1995 but never started?

Some suggestions:

1. Change the oil, oil filter, and coolant. For coolant you may want to use plain water at first, in case there are leaks it is less messy to clean up if there is no antifreeze in it.
2. Syphon out as much of the old gas from the tank as possible, change out the fuel filter and drain the fuel lines as much as possible. Put new gas in the tank.
2. Remove spark plugs and inspect them - they probably need to be replaced
3. You need to lubricate the pistons. Pour a bit of Marvell Mystery Oil into each cylinder, then turn the crankshaft a few times (with spark plugs still out). You can do that either by putting a wrench on the crank shaft and turning by hand or use the starter motor.
4. Check the battery - I bet you need a new one.
5. Inspect electrical connections and components for corrosion - starter motor wiring, spark plug wires, the coil and distributor.
6. Replace spark plugs, spray some starter fluid into the carburetor, then try to start the engine.

Good luck!

Good plan, ebaines.

Last one I built, 4.1 Buick in a street rod, I used a distributor shaft to just turn the oil pump until I saw the oil in the valve gallery, then I tried to fire it off. Buick used an external oil pump so it might have been easier.

Well, this is very helpful and I appreciate the response. But I think this start-up is going to be a bit more challenging. The car has a rebuilt Powerglide and rear end, neither of which has ever had any fluid other than what was used when they were assembled. There are no wires in the car, but sparkplugs were installed to protect the cylinders. I removed the original distributer and dropped in a HEI from an early 70's Chevy 327 but it's not aligned nor are the wires connected.

My goal is to see if the engine will run and according your procedure, I agreed that hand cranking is the best place to start. I have the tools to accomplish that but it seems that I need to think about lubrication first before turning the shaft. The question is how far do I have to go to douse the moving parts and move slowly a bit at a time.

I would also seem that a good quality penetrating oil would be a good starter from the plug holes but it also seems that I should remove the valve covers and do some top down drip work lubrication with penetrating oil first and then perhaps Marvell. I am unfamiliar with the viscosity of Marvell but I would think that I need something like the CRV's 0W5 or something like that.


The suggestion about the distributor shaft triggered something someone told me about placing a long "socket" extension doth the shaft attached to an electric drill to turn the shaft. I do not recall how the extension was attached to the shaft but it doesn't seem like the camshaft will drive the crankshaft with this method.

What do you feel about this method of cranking or these method of lubrication?

There are no wires in the entire car--yet--that's why I like to see if I can move the internal parts of this engine by hand as a first step.

LENNYSUN

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Originally Posted by ebaines

Some suggestions:

1. Change the oil, oil filter, and coolant. For coolant you may want to use plain water at first, in case there are leaks it is less messy to clean up if there is no antifreeze in it.



2. Syphon out as much of the old gas from the tank as possible, change out the fuel filter and drain the fuel lines as much as possible. Put new gas in the tank.
2. Remove spark plugs and inspect them - they probably need to be replaced
3. You need to lubricate the pistons. Pour a bit of Marvell Mystery Oil into each cylinder, then turn the crankshaft a few times (with spark plugs still out). You can do that either by putting a wrench on the crank shaft and turning by hand or use the starter motor.
4. Check the battery - I bet you need a new one.
5. Inspect electrical connections and components for corrosion - starter motor wiring, spark plug wires, the coil and distributor.
6. Replace spark plugs, spray some starter fluid into the carburetor, then try to start the engine.

Good luck!

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